Archive for August, 2008
Friday, August 15th, 2008
In my last post, I said that people need to start writing more. I said that our readers don’t care what we write about, just that we write. I even threatened to take my camera out with me this morning.
Well, guess what. I did just that. Since I had to go to the mailbox this morning to put some outgoing mail in it, I decided to enjoy a little walking tour with the good ol’ camera in hand. I know this feels like a Seinfeld episode (about nothing) but this is what I do.
After I put the mail in the mailbox, I headed back down the driveway. I looked at the ground and noticed all sorts of acorns laying there all spread out. Every day this happens. There is a big Red Oak at the end of the driveway that makes a huge mess. I think the squirrels are $%^& with me. I need to call a tree service to come prune a few trees, this being one of them. I hate having this messy tree for everyone to see. Maybe when it’s getting pruned, I’ll take some before and after shots.
Anyway, when I looked down at the driveway, I noticed some ants running around. I took a bunch of pictures of them, but they were too fast and the pictures came out blurry. They would’ve been really cool because they were close up. While I was down on the driveway, I decided to take a picture of an acorn so you know what I am talking about.
Red Oak acorn
There are hundreds of these things. Every time I mow the lawn, I take out the blower to blow off the driveway. Within a few days, they are back. After taking the picture, I had to get up and run because a car was coming. That’s all they need to see…G laying down on the driveway taking more pictures.
Last night, I also mentioned that I was taking down some small trees in the woods along the driveway. My goal is to make it a bit lighter in there with some breaks of sun. I have to be careful not to take down too much, because I really like the trees. The last thing I want is full sun. I have already made a dent. I would say I am taking down anything smaller than 6″. Here are some photos of that.
Woods along driveway
Woods along driveway
Woods along driveway
As you can see, there is some filtered sunlight coming through. I probably have about 10-15 more trees to remove.
A few days ago, I discovered a faster and quieter way of doing this. Well, one way is quieter, but not faster. I am using a hand saw for some of them. Basically, I take the tree down and then cut the top leafy part off of it. I drag the stalk up and place it in the pile you see in the last photo. I drag the top of the tree down into the brush pile in the woods. I always need a good brush pile. You would be amazed at how fast a big brush pile collapses over time.
The faster way is to do what I described above, but with a chainsaw. I used to cut the wood into firewood right there, but that was noisy. I will do that all in one shot when I am done taking down the trees.
Here is a beautiful picture of one of the stumps.
Birch tree stump
At the bottom of the driveway, I noticed a new flower growing in the spot I just mulched. It was mixed in with all the others. It just bloomed so I thought that deserved some recognition.
New white flower
After I took a picture of that flower, I walked across the front lawn to get some shots of a nice pink flower up there. I did that and then I took a shot of the Highbush Cranberry that we have growing. There are a few of these bushes and the berries are getting very red.
Pink flower
Highbush Cranberry
You see how nice that was? It was a big blog post about nothing and I think I got away with it. Well, we’ll see what people write about it to see if I really got away with it.
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Thursday, August 14th, 2008
All Winter, I say that I can’t wait for Summer. This is for obvious reasons. I always say that I can make it up to January 15 with Winter and then I’m done. If I can’t grow anything, I am not a happy camper.
This next paragraph really has nothing to do with this post. I just thought I would throw it in here.
Laura and I were eating dinner this evening when I noticed Finnegan Gordon Belle (Flipper Human the cat) laying on the chair next to us. Now, just to give a bit of background on this cat…he is grouchy when he sleeps. He really has no time or patience for people who get in the way of his “resting sessions.”
Well, after I finished slowly (repeatedly) placing my food in my mouth, I decided to walk over and pet the cat. I got a few good pets in. I thought this was nice. What did the cat do in return? He looked up at me, shifted his weight, sat up and bit my hand. Nuff said. I walked away and left him alone. Sure, when he wants to get picked up every other minute of the day, I accommodate him, but when I want to play, noooooo.
Here he is, the bum…
Finnegan Gordon Belle
Man, you can almost see the attitude.
Ok, back to the post. If you haven’t noticed around the blogging world yet, things are a bit slow this Summer. I guess people are outside, enjoying the weather. I am sure all sorts of families are vacationing at the beach and places like that. Gee, even I got in the car a few times this season. Well, let’s just say all this enjoyment hasn’t really helped my reading habits. Blog reading I mean. Yes, it’s sad but true.
In my opinion, if you want to be one of these crazy bloggers, you have to write all the time. You have to wake up and want to bring the camera with you when you get your morning coffee. It truly is a disgusting way to live, but if you’ve ever written in a format like this, you’ll know what I am talking about.
The thing of it is…we computer people LOVE to read what you write. It doesn’t matter what it is. We just want to keep up with your lives. I should actually be writing this to myself because I have been slipping through the cracks lately. I mean, I have been cutting down some small trees on the side of the property, but I don’t think I can bring the camera every time, nor do I think people want to continuously read about it. I’m not even sure what I can take a picture of. I keep asking Laura if it looks any different than it did earlier and she just gives me a sad look and turns her face back and forth, saying…”no, my sweet prince, it doesn’t.”
I sometimes make the joke to Laura that people don’t need to call me to see how I am doing. All they need to do is read this silly thing. It’s kind of not fair because I do a lot of calling. Trust me, let’s not change this arrangement. I like you reading and I like doing the calling. Oftentimes, I feel more comfortable if things are on my terms.
I guess I get a little depressed when I see the internet get light for a while. I think overall traffic takes a hit during the Summer. I never thought I would see the day when I get excited at the prospect of a rainy day in September…when all the kids are back at school and college is in session. Ooohhh, look at all those users checking out my sites. The Christmas season is a whole other story.
It’s amazing. For all the cool things we do in the Summer, we really don’t feel like writing about many of them. Maybe it’s the sunshine. Maybe it’s the guilt of bringing the laptop out on the deck with us and writing, when we really should be looking at the squirrels. Perhaps that’s why some of the best authors like to go up to their chilly cabins to write and don’t do it on the beaches of Barbados. Really now, Barbados is no place to write. Maybe Vail…
My friends, the good news is there are new blogs being formed every day. Just yesterday, an old friend of mine showed interest in making a blog of his own. I hope he does because the world needs more smart writing. I am actually curious about what he has to say. I am sure there are other great blogs that have been started recently that I never knew about. Oh, it’s going to be fun because the blogging season is right around the corner.
So, for those people who have shown interest recently about blogging and why they should get into it, I will explain what I like about the whole thing. Basically, I think this is a place for people to get to know me. I really like the format and I feel comfortable sharing things here. I really don’t care if some trucker from India reads this thing every morning before he has his breakfast. If he finds me entertaining and gets a kick out of the projects that I do, then that’s cool. You know, I bet there are a few truckers who like to read my blog.
Also, I really like to take pictures. Here, I can post them and tell people all about what I was doing. Of course, if you haven’t noticed, I think the stuff I do is reeeeally important.
The best thing is when I help people. I know I have said this before, but when someone gets some use out of what I write, that makes it all worth while. You can imagine the blisters on my fingers from all this writing. Can you imagine that?
Well, it’s getting a bit late now and I fear that I am not making sense anymore. I just want to warn you that the camera comes back out tomorrow and I am going to be outside with it. I am going to take a picture of something and post it here. You just wait…
Related posts
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Office OpenXML A Dead End, Microsoft Will Back ODF
During the LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco, I met with Bob Sutor, IBM’s vice president of open source and standards. We discussed document standards and the implications of ISO’s controversial decision to grant fast-track approval to Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) format.
Top 10 Cell Phone Etiquette Rules People Still Break
Do we really still need to talk about this? You’d think with over a decade of experience under our belts along with our inherent delusions of hyper sophistication that we’d have figured things out by now. But the sad truth remains: cell-phone baggery is worse than ever!
What would happen if we each used 10% less gas?
For starters, we’d save billions of dollars and keep billions of tons of carbon dioxide out of the environment. So, on that note, support proper tire inflation, not off-shore drilling.
Leaves, Twigs, and Bark: Cheap Biofuel Alternatives?
It seems like new reports are practically coming out daily about the next great gasoline alternative— furfural, algae, and switchgrass, just to name a few. Now 3 more contenders have entered the ring: leaves, twigs, and bark.
Colorado Creating World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Community
Called Geos, the 25-acre area will have 250 homes from smaller 850 square feet to mansion-sized 3,500+ square feet placed in four neighborhoods. While that’s a whole lot of houses, they’ll be keeping a whopping 40% of the area as green space.
Related posts
Monday, August 11th, 2008
As I was outside today cutting down some more small trees, the chimney repair guys rolled down the driveway. I thought he said they were going to call to set up an appointment, but this was fine with me. The faster I can cross something off my list, the better.
The job was to repair the crack in the chimney crown and ad a cap. I found a nice site that offers reasons why repairing a chimney crown is important. I have a feeling this is one of those repairs that a whole lot of people ignore. I guess they will be forced to fix things once they start falling apart. Heck, I wouldn’t have even known about this if the chimney cleaning guy didn’t tell me. I did my own research to back up what he said.
Chimney crown and cap
The cap they put on the chimney is stainless steel and measures 13″x28″. It has a lifetime warranty. For the price they charged, it better.
There are some benefits to having a chimney cap installed as well. They are:
- the cap helps to prevent downdraft
- it helps to repel rain and snow
- stops animals from nesting in your chimney
- helps to improve draft
- helps the chimney crown to shed water
- stops or helps to stop the fireplace damper from rusting
With all these benefits, I thought getting a cap would be the prudent thing to do. I am a prudent person.
During a walk last week, I noticed that virtually all the new houses around here don’t have chimney caps installed. I guess it’s not that imperative for new construction. I am still wondering why that is. It is probably the duty of the homeowner to get that done after the house is built. It still strikes me as odd though.
Related posts
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
For quite some time, Laura and I have been planning a trip to Tanglewood this Summer. Every time it came up, there was something else to do. I think there may have even been a time or two where I was just too lazy to get up and go.
Last night was the night. We decided that we would go on Friday and on Saturday I went to the food store for all the goodies. You know, we get all the good food to eat while listening to the music.
The weather was supposed to be a little chilly in central Connecticut on Saturday night. What I wasn’t expecting was the downright cold air that was hovering in the Berkshires. I mean, I guess at this point, 45 degrees feels cold to anyone. I brought an extra shirt, but wish I brought my fleece as well.
On schedule last night was the “All-Mozart Program” in the Koussevitzky Music Shed. We grabbed our usual spot in front of the visitor’s center and spread out everything we had. I lit the four “bug” candles, but didn’t really need them due to the chilly weather. Mosquitoes and gnats like the heat and I guess it wasn’t optimal conditions for them to be biting people. That was nice.
The music was ok. I seem to remember our previous visits being more thunderous, while this one was pretty quiet. I like a roar and this time was more like a meow. I explained to Laura this morning that I felt it was more entertaining to the people sitting in the shed, not for us on the lawn. I would still choose to lay under that stars any day.
About half way through, I decided to take a few photos of the area at night. I am sure you could have guessed I was going to do that.
Looking over Lake Mahkeenac
Koussevitzky Music Shed
Tanglewood visitor center
Tanglewood tree at night
One of our four bug candles
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Sunday, August 10th, 2008
When we first looked at this house when it was on the market, we noticed a home gym in the basement. I liked that idea. First, because both Laura and I work from home and second, because we need to exercise.
The room that the gym was in downstairs is the perfect size for it. I am not sure what type of home gym it was, but it fit well. The room doesn’t have all that many uses, besides perhaps a nice table and chair set to drink your morning coffee.
I think I have mentioned before that we like to walk a lot. We are now up to about 3.6 miles per walk. We found a nice new neighborhood the other day. I think I am going to bring my camera next time because I am getting great landscaping ideas. The only problem with walking is that it doesn’t build up muscle. I have had the same body for the past eight years. After going to the gym every day for the five years previous to that, it’s a little disappointing.
For over a month now, I have been researching different types of Bowflex home gyms. I really like Bowflex and have read about them, watched videos on them and even tried one of them out. The only problem that I find with Bowflex is their infomercials. They don’t help the company any. I thought those infomercials always cheapened the brand.
Recently, I looked on Craigslist for some used Bowflex machines in the Hartford area. I came across a few and emailed the owners. I received responses from two of them. The first response was from an owner of a Bowflex Ultimate 2 machine, which is the best one Bowflex offers. The owner and I went back and forth a few times via email and decided to meet. He offered to bring it to the house.
On Friday, I went up to Manchester to meet him at the storage place to check out the Bowflex. I liked what I saw and we squeezed it into his truck. It weighs quite a bit. We brought it to the house and set it up. I am very happy that it was already assembled, because I have heard stories of 9 hour assembly times. He said that when he put it together, every single nut and bolt needed to be attached. That, to me, is not fun.
Bowflex Ultimate 2 home gym
If you read any reviews online about the Bowflex Ultimate 2 home gym, you will notice many people saying that it is a quality machine. What impressed me was the weight and sturdiness of it. It is very solid. The tubes and pipes are very thick gauge material. Everything seems to be gym grade. Using the machine is ever better. The cables glide very smoothly and the resistance of the power rods is much better than I ever expected.
We already did our first workout on it yesterday and I think we are in some discomfort. Getting off our butts always seems to have that effect. I downloaded the entire owner’s manual that offers all the instructions on how to do each exercise as well as several sample workout routines.
Now, all we have to do is stick to it and in a few weeks I expect to get a call from Bowflex to be in their next commercial.
Related posts
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
It’s getting to that time of the season when I am starting to notice a bunch of tomatoes hanging from my tomato plants. I am also noticing some yellowing of the lower leaves. We have been eating a nice number of small and large tomatoes, pretty much daily. We use them for everything, but mainly salads.
I have been noticing these plants getting thicker, meaning, lots of leaves. I always knew that there comes a time to prune tomato plants, but never quite knew how, when or why.
I decided to so a search today for “pruning tomato plants” and came to a great website. They go into detail all about what I wanted to know. You can visit that website here.
After I read up on all I needed to do to my tomato plants, I went outside to prune them. I think I did a good job, but one always wonders if one took too much off. We’ll soon see, I suppose.
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Thursday, August 7th, 2008
I think these two photos may have been the inspiration for my new photo gallery.
I took them yesterday when it was kind of rainy outside. I thought it would be neat to post these really cool shots on the blog. Then, I thought that no one would know what the heck am I talking about. Someone out there with a crazy smart brain would ask, “Why is Jay posting pictures of tomatoes and a mushroom?” I’ll tell you why…because they are cool.
Tomatoes
This is a picture of the tomatoes I have growing on the back porch. The reason I took this photo is because I am quite proud of my plant. Also, because I liked the way the drops of water on the red tomato show as kind of orange.
Wild mushroom
This is a very cool picture of a wild mushroom that is growing up near the driveway. I saw this and just couldn’t resist.
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Thursday, August 7th, 2008
I had a great idea yesterday. I was thinking that since I like to take pictures and post them up on this blog, maybe people would appreciate a dedicated photo gallery.
One of the things that always annoyed me what that no on can really see the detail in my photos. The new camera that I got takes great pictures, but when I shrink them down to fit in the blog, I lose so much of the close up detail. For the blog, I shrink the photos down to 503 pixels. For the photo gallery, I will shrink them down to 1000 pixels. That should let the average blog reader (civilian) see what I want them to see.
Where can you see this marvelous new gallery? Well, right here. The gallery is an open source application developed by Coppermine Photo Gallery.
I just put a few photos in there for now. I am not going to drive myself nuts be going back to every photo I ever took to try to fill it up. Also, I am reserving the gallery for only really good photos…not everyday things I post here. Well, some of the stuff I post here, but only the good stuff. I will also refer to the gallery in my posts if I have a better photo over there.
When visiting the gallery, be sure to click the thumbnail photo. When the photo gets large, click it again for the really big one. That’s where you’ll see some really cool stuff.
Related posts
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
I know this is not a new service, but the fact that I am offering it now is new.
Kindly notice the yellowish box in the upper right-hand corner of this new and beautiful template. In this yellowish box, you will see a “Want to subscribe?” heading. Please place your email in the box to the right of where it says, “Enter your email address:” to receive my posts via email. If you do this, you will never miss another post. They will be delivered right to your inbox. How? By robots and aliens.
I entered my own email address and completed the sign-up process. Then, I wrote a post. I haven’t received it via email yet, but I’m sure I will. It may just take a few seconds.
Enjoy.
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TYSM I read this one and decided to try it out on my ACER (See, its not always HP with the problems)...